Ajinkya Rahane has stated that Rohit Sharma is not too far away from a big score and added that a player of his calibre can turn things around in a flash. The Indian Vice-captain has also added that Indian spinners have a plan to dominate the proceedings in the second Test against the English team.
In a deviation from the norm, India lost to England, only the second defeat in 35 home Test matches, and the batting performance came under the scanner. India couldn’t hold on against the dominating English batting performance, and the failure of Rohit Sharma, among others, was considered as a major reason.
However, Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 1 & 0 in the Test, stated that the team has full faith in Rohit’s abilities and they believe that Rohit can turn it around in the second Test.
“A good player doesn’t need to score 100 and 150 every game. We know Rohit is a class player. If a player doesn’t perform in odd games, that doesn’t mean he is a bad player. Rohit is an important member in the squad and he will soon put up a good score soon. It is all about having faith in the player,” Rahane said in the pre-match press conference.
Indian spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, ripped apart England in the second innings but the first innings performance was not upto the mark. It allowed England to get to a total of 578 runs but Rahane is not too fussed about that.
“I thought our spinners bowled really well. If you saw the first 2 days of the first Test, there was nothing for our spinners and fast bowlers. Considering they batted for 190 overs and scored 580-odd runs, I thought we bowled really well. If you see the second innings, all our spinners – especially Ashwin – bowled really well. We know if in India the ball is turning, then the opposition will be under pressure. We’re not too concerned about how our spinners are bowling. I’m sure they’ll come up with a plan tomorrow and bowl really well.”
England left James Anderson and Dom Bess from the squad for the second Test as a part of their rest and rotation policy while injured Jofra Archer and home-bound Jos Buttler will also miss the game. While Rahane respects that decision, he added that India won’t take the other players lightly.
“England have rotated players in Sri Lanka as well. Yes, considering what is happening at the moment, the bubble and the quarantine, it is difficult for the players to actually have that mental strength. It is their plan and I respect that. But for us, each and every member of their team is important. We are not thinking about any individual, we are thinking of them as a team. We want to focus on our strengths.”
